An industrial accident took place at the Bear Canyon Mine in Huntington Canyon on Dec. 12. A call came into the Emery County dispatch at 6:09 a.m.
A Trimac truck driven by David Whiting, 31, of Elmo spun out in the loose gravel above the weigh building at the Bear Canyon Mine on his way up to load. He called for help and got out of his truck. A loader came down to pull him up.
The driver got out of the loader to help the truck driver hook the chain from the truck to the loader.
Sgt. Norman Vuksinick for the Emery County Sheriff’s Office said at this point it is not known if the loader came out of gear or the brakes failed, but the loader started moving back towards the short distance to the truck.
At this point the loader operator yelled to get out of the way the loader was moving, but it was too late and the driver was crushed between the loader and the semi-truck.
The loader driver pulled the loader forward to release the man and called for assistance. A miner came to help the loader operator and they worked on the driver until the ambulance arrived.
Sgt. Vuksinick said the man died quickly from what he assumes were internal injuries. The report isn’t back on that yet. Deputy Blake Gardner assisted at the scene of the accident.
The sheriff’s office investigation is near completion and they will wait for results of the MSHA investigation.
The Mine, Safety, and Health Administration is conducting an investigation of its own. They will check the equipment to try to find out the cause of the accident. They will check to make sure everything was in compliance with the equipment.
The Bear Canyon Mine was closed the day of the accident but has since reopened.
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